Screw holding screw driver



Nov. 20, 1951 L-IZ F. o. SELSETH 2,575,473-

SCREW HOLDING SCREW DRIVER Filed Aug. 5, 1946 Inf 7270507 Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT orr es" I 2,515,473 I l SCREW HOLDINQ. SCREW DRIVER Forbie 0. 'Selseth, Minneapolis, Minn. v Application August 5, 1946, Serial No. 688,551

'1 This invention relates to a device for handling screws or other small articles, particularly articles having a slot therein. It often happens that a screw having a slotted head must be removed from or inserted in a location which is difiicult to reach with the hand. It is desirable to have a tool which can engage the screw and hold it so that it can be inserted into a small place and engaged by its threads. It is also desirable to have such a tool which is simple and'canbe operated by one hand.

It is an object of this invention therefore to providea simrileand eiiicient implement or tool for handling screws with slotted heads and other articles.

It is another object of the invention to provide an implement for handling screws and other articles comprising a member having a portion adapted to be held in the hand, said member being in the form of a tube at one end, a pair of thin resilient plates secured adjacent "said end and projecting therefrom,said plates extending across the bore in said-tube andt'he lower ends of said plates tending to spring apart, together with a secondmember-movable in said tubeand being constructed and arranged-to be moved 'over said plates to-movethei-r free ends together.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an implement for handling screws or other articles comprising a member having a shank, one end of which is formed as a tube, a pair of thin resilient plates secured adjacent the end of said tube, said plates extending across the bore in said tube and having projecting portions adapted to spring apart, a plunger extending through said member having a bifurcated end adapted to move over said plates and move the free ends thereof together, said plunger projecting at the other end of said member and having a knob or handle means thereon by which it can be moved over said plates, together with resilient means for moving said plunger in the opposite direction to free said plates.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the acccmp-anying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the device;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the device in another position;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the device, as shown in Fig. 1, and shown on an enlarged scale;

'2" Claims. (Cl. 145-50) Fig. 4 is a partial view incentral ,verticailsece tion taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. '3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section taken on line Itof Fig. 3, said sections beingtaken as indicated by the arrows; and 7 v Fig. 8 is a partial view in sidee'levation showing the device holding a screw.

Referring to the drawings, a device is ,.shown comprising a member HI. While this member could be variouslyformed, inthe, embodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown, as'.cylindrical or as having a cylindricalshank, and one end I 0a of said member, which can be called the lower end, is of reduced diameter and in the form of a tube. Portion Illa adjacent its lower end is slotted transversely and a pair of quite thin resilient plates II are secured against the sides of said slot in any suitable manner, as by welding or brazing, said plates II projecting some distance below portion Illa, and are .arranged so that their free ends tend to spring apart, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Member I II has a bore extending there'through coaxial with the bore in portion Illa and a second member or plunger I2 is disposed in said bore. The lower end of plunger I2 is bifurcated or provided with a slot I2a. the sides of which are parallel to the flat sides of plates II so that said slot can embrace plates II. The bore in member II] is provided with an enlarged portion Iflb and a coiled compression spring I3 is disposed in portion Illb, the same encircling plunger I2 and having one end engaging one end of portion Illb. A small pin I4 extends transversely of plunger I2 and is secured therein and said pin is engaged by the other end of spring I3. Plunger I2 normally projects at the upper end of member II] and has a handle portion I5 shown as in the form of a knob secured thereto, said knob having a rounded upper end.

When the implement is to be used to engage a screw I6, the same will be held in the hand and the operator can press on knob I5 with his thumb or forefinger. This will move plunger I2 downwardly into member I0 and cause the lower end thereof to move over plates I I so that said plates are brought into engagement, as shown in Fig. 2. With the plates in this position they are inserted into the groove I6a in the head of screw I6 and the knob I5 is then released. Spring I3, which was compressed when plunger I2 was moved, now

moves said plunger upwardly to the position in Fig. 1, and plates I l, due to their resiliency, spring apart and engage the sides of slot lfia so that said screw is frictionally engaged by said plates and can be lifted thereby with the implement. Screw Hi can now be placed into the desired position and given some rotation to start it into its socket. Similarly a screw which is to be removed from a place diflicult of access can be engaged by plates H and turned from its socket and gripped by plates II when knob I5 is released. The screw could be initially loosened with a regular screwdriver or the implement in the position shown in Fig. 2 constitutes an efficient screwdriver. Screws can thus be very easily and efficiently handled and placed in the desired position or removed therefrom by the implement. One great advantage of the structure is that the implement can be held in and operated entirely by one hand. This is a great advantage. The implement finds effective use in assembly lines and other places where mechanism is assembled or dismantled. The device is quit simple in construction, easily made and assembled, and quite rugged and durable. The same has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and found to be Very successful and efilcient.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangemeni; and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicant's invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable 01' carrying out the objects above set forth,

in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for handling screws and other articles having in combination, a member adapted to be held in the hand and having a bore extending therethrough with an open lower end, a pair of thin resilient plates secured to the lower end of said member and extending some distance beyond said end across the bore therein, the lower free ends of said plates being adapted to spring apart and being disposed in constantly diverging relation, a plunger movable in said bore having a bifurcated lower end and being movable over said plates to move the free ends thereof together. said plunger projecting at the upper end of said member and having a handle at its upper end, said member having an enlarged portion of said bore therein, a coiled compression spring surrounding said plunger having one end engaging one end of said enlarged bore, and means secured to said plunger engaged by the other end of said spring, said spring tending to move said plunger away from said blades.

2. A device for handling screws and other articles having in combination, a member having an intermediate portion adapted to be held in the hand, said member having a tubular portion at its lower end, said lower end being open, a pair of thin resilient blades secured adjacent the end of said tubular portion, and fixed longitudinally of said portion extending across the bore thereof and extending downwardly some distance from said end, the free ends of said blades tending to spring apart to bring the blades into a constantly diverging relation, a plunger movable in said member having a slotted lower end adapted to move over said blades to move the free ends thereof together, said plunger projecting at the other end of said member and having a knob thereon adapted to be pressed by a portion of the hand to move said plunger, and resilient means for moving said plunger away from said blades, comprising a compression coiled spring in said member engaging said plunger to move the same upwardly.

FORBIE O. SELSETH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,075,225 Reamy Oct. 7, 1913 1,280,494 Lindenberg June 19, 1917 1,284,060 Culman Nov. 5, 1918 1,360,368 Coburn Nov. 30, 1920 1,457,198 Utley May 29, 1923 1,846,857 Gibson Feb. 23, 1932 2,408,887 Schriner Oct. 8, 1946 

